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Football Diner’s First Annual All-Deserving Team
by Chris Brophy
28/12/2007
We’ve had the Pro Bowl rosters, we’ve had the Pro Bowl ‘snubs’ teams from a few of the big media outlets. Now I present another team – the Football Diner All Deserving Team. It may come across as in part, a Pro Bowl snub team but for me, this is a team to sing the praises of guys in the league who don’t get so much credit because they are either not flashy doing their job, or by doing their job, are allowing others to go and make the noticed plays.
You could argue a lot of players for each spot, but these are guys who stood out for me and I just want to take a few moments to give them some props.
OFFENSE:
 Quarterback: David Garrard (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Running Back: Chester Taylor (Minnesota Vikings)
Fullback: Mike Sellers (Washington Redskins)
Wide Receiver: Bobby Engram (Seattle Seahawks)
Wide Receiver: Greg Jennings (Green Bay Packers)
Tight End: Heath Miller (Pittsburh Steelers)
Offensive Line: Jacksonville Jaguars
David Garrard took over the starters job late in the off-season but has responded by being extremely safe with the ball and being able to mix up some big plays that compliment the Jaguars strong running game well. Speaking of that strong running game, it’s a big reason I went for the Jags OL as a unit. They pass protect well but have also enabled the Jags to be second in the league in rushing whilst showing good discipline. Running behind them in this team would be Chester Taylor, who may now be a back-up officially but he is proven as a starter and performs like one when required. He’ll be lead into the holes by do-it-all fullback Mike Sellers who if he isn’t blocking or catching is busy hurdling defenders. Targets for Garrard are the sure handed veteran Bobby Engram who really stepped up when Deion Branch and DJ Hackett were injured and young starlet Greg Jennings, who has stepped into Javon Walker’s big play shoes in Green Bay. The underneath target of Heath Miller provides a useful red zone target who gets lost in the wave of talent at TE in the AFC.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Kicker: Phil Dawson (Cleveland Browns)
Kick Returner: Nate Burleson (Seattle Seahawks)
Punter: Chris Kluwe (Minnesota Vikings)
Phil Dawson is very consistent and with the Browns finally setting the scoreboard alight this year, he has being able to knock up more points whilst still not missing much. There is a reason he has stayed with the team since their re-birth in 1999. Directional punting is becoming a bit of a lost art in the NFL but no one does it better than Chris Kluwe whilst in the return game, you don’t get too many dual return specialists now but Nate Burleson is one of the lesser known ones and I like the fact he doesn’t fair catch many punts, which makes his 11.6 average in that department all the more impressive.
DEFENSE:
 Defensive End: Javis Green (New England Patriots)
Defensive End: Trent Cole (Philadelphia Eagles)
Defensive Tackle: Kelly Gregg (Baltimore Ravens)
Defensive Tackle: Cornelius Griffin (Washington Redskins)
Outside Linebacker: Karlos Dansby (Arizona Cardinals)
Middle Linebacker: Gary Brackett (Indianapolis Colts)
Outside Linebacker: Thomas Howard (Oakland Raiders)
Cornerback: Shawn Springs (Washington Redskins)
Cornerback: Ike Taylor (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Strong Safety: Chris Harris (Carolina Panthers)
Free Safety: Antoine Bethea (Indianapolis Colts)
Javis Green helped the Patriots get over the early season concerns over Richard Seymour’s health. In a team full of big names, Kelly Gregg often gets forgotten about but 75 official tackles for a defensive tackle should impress anyone. Cornelius Griffin is the player that makes the Redskins front four go. If he plays well, the Redskins usually play well. Coming after the passer hard will be Trent Cole, a guy the Eagles were wise to lock up long term in November and he has helped the Eagles get over the disappointment of Jevon Kearse’s lack of production and playing time. Operating behind that active D-Line will be the Cardinals Karlos Dansby, who plays with great intensity. As a pass defender, he can make an impact either coming after the passer or stopping the rock reaching its target. At the other outside spot is one of the best coverage backers around in Thomas Howard and sandwiched by them is the Colts pocket rocker Gary Brackett who may be small in size, but whilst everyone talks about Bob Sanders impact, Brackett makes a very good contribution. Sanders safety partner Antoine Bethea also makes the squad because with Sanders often getting close to the line of scrimmage, Bethea has a lot of ground to cover behind him and the Colts pass defense does not give up many big plays. Along side him is Chris Harris, who has forced 8 fumbles this year and then manning the corners is the physical Shawn Springs, who has overcome the loss of a team mate and his father in a coma to maintain a high level of play this year, forcing turnovers at key times down the stretch and also being an excellent tackler. Ike Taylor on the other side has enjoyed an excellent season and has played his part in helping the Steelers get back to their usual high level of defense.
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